Also called slide fastener. a device used for fastening clothing, valises, etc., consisting of two toothed tracks or spiral metal or plastic coils, each bordering one of two edges to be joined, and a piece that either interlocks or separates them when pulled.
1920-25, Americanism; formerly a trademark; see zip1, -er1
Related forms
zipperless, adjective
Examples from the web for zipper
Wrap the mattress in canvas and put a zipper down one side and along the bottom.
Outboard from the waterproof compartment is the laptop sleeve, which you access via a urethane-coated, heavy-duty side zipper.
Ideally you want the whitewater to scroll across the wave sequentially, evenly, the way a zipper unzips.
zipper-sealed flap protects your gear from the elements.
Toss a few small zipper-top bags and some plastic grocery bags into your luggage.
Crisp calls its falafels handbag sandwiches for their eco-paper packaging, complete with clever zipper waists.
Until a few months ago, he had it stashed in a zipper-sealed plastic bag.
These are clothes meant to be crumpled-loose-fitting frocks with nary a zipper or buttonhole.
She hears him unbuckling his belt, and then the zipper coming down.
The zipper opened and closed in a flash, a perfect mechanism with which to secure a purse or jacket against high speeds.
British Dictionary definitions for zipper
zipper
/ˈzɪpə/
noun
1.
(US & Canadian) a fastening device operating by means of two parallel rows of metal or plastic teeth on either side of a closure that are interlocked by a sliding tab Also called (in Britain and certain other countries) zip
Word Origin and History for zipper
n.
1925, probably an agent noun from zip (v.1). The trademark taken out on the name that year applied to a boot with zippers, not to the "lightning fastener" itself, which was at first called a zip.